About.

CALLING ALL BUILDERS, HEALERS, AND LOVERS OF EARTH.

The Indigenous Wisdom & Permaculture Skills Convergence is an ecological infrastructure build at a community center that serves the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, August 19th - 26th. This gathering will bring together renowned ecological teachers, tribal members, and participants from around the country to learn, create, and practice eco-design and join in a variety of skill sharing workshops.



 This year (our second), we focus on deepening our relationships with tribal partners by returning as a small group of 50. We will build strong community ties through participant skill-shares, working groups on education and decolonization, and set up 3 food security hubs across the reservation. Our headquarters will be the OLCERI (Oglala Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Initiative) where attendees can gain practice in natural building while contributing to the building of the Indigenous Wisdom Center - a future Lakota language school and permaculture demonstration site. 

All the sustainable infrastructure projects are led by Lakota community impact center OLCERI - the Oglala Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Initiative (http://www.olceri.org). OLCERI's programs address food scarcity, lack of housing, and extreme poverty on the reservation. 

Under the guidance of our ecological experts, we will design a naturally built Indigenous Wisdom Center that will house other non-profit organizations focused on language and cultural preservation. Other permaculture projects include planting inside a greenhouse, food forest maintenance, permaculture garden design, rainwater catchment systems, and appropriate technologies like fuel efficient rocket stoves and solar cookers. Attendees will gain hands-on experience in permaculture and ecological design, while Pine Ridge residents will continue to reap the benefits of the infrastructure we’ve built. The August 25 - September 3rd gathering on OLCERI’s ranch will be a celebration of our commitment to food, music, art, and community, with sustainability and resiliency as it’s highest values. 

Program.

IWPS CONVERGENCE STARTS Monday August 19th and ends Sunday August 25th at 10 am. On the OLCERI ranch, Pine Ridge Reservation. Address and Directions provided post-purchase. Opportunities to stay on after the convergence exist. www.iwpsconvergence.com for details. 

TEACHERS 

Bryan Deans, OLCERI - Lakota host and founder of OLCERI. Teaching engineering, natural building, bow and arrow, Lakota gift economy, horse whispering, and more. www.olceri.org

Koreen Brennan, Grow Permaculture - Water catchment, Food forestry. Koreen has been working on Pine Ridge for 15 years and planted over 1,000 trees in food forests! www.growpermaculture.org

Michael Alcazar, 1 Million Trees 4 Haiti - Indigenous Phenology, Carbon Farming and the Perennial Economy

Brennan Bird, Solutioncraft - Free energy cooking and food preservation technology. www.solutioncraft.org

and others TBA

MUSIC, ART, COMMUNITY


COMMUNITY STEWARDS STIPEND PROGRAM

The stipend program invites Lakota locals to join as paid workshop students, gaining valuable skills to continue these strategies in their community. Your ticket price supports the community stewards stipend program. 


Highlights.

  • permaculture, natural building, mycology, dance, community, solar power, water catchment, Lakota

Living Conditions.

Sleeping

  • tent camping

Omnivore Food

  • communal kitchen access
  • communally cooked meals
  • over 80% locally sourced

Internet

  • slow: emails only

OLCERI

Getting here.

Located 15 miles south of the Pine Ridge town, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. OLCERI is a ranch and wild horse sanctuary with amenities including an outdoor kitchen with 3 delicious local meals a day provided, compost toilets, solar shower, food forest, walapini greenhouse, and a variety of appropriate technologies in use to interact with. 

Contact

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